Episode VIII: The Resistance Lives
by FallenHero84
Summary: Three years after the end of Leia Organa's presidency, Rey continues her Jedi training on Coruscant, but still tries to reach the missing Kylo Ren in her dreams. The Sith are slowly rebuilding. [This is an alternate continuity of the Sequel Trilogy and has no connection with the film The Last Jedi].
1. Darth Phasma

**Hello, everyone, and thank you for continuing to check out my alternate version of the Sequel Trilogy. This story is a sequel to my previous story, _Episode VII: Dreams of the Force_. That story took elements of _The Force Awakens_, but ultimately went in its own direction. I highly recommend you read _Dreams of the Force_ before reading this story, as many events from it are referenced here. This story has almost no connection to _The Last Jedi_, its film counterpart; again, this is an entirely alternate continuity.**

**I hope you enjoy _The Resistance Lives_, and any and all feedback is welcome.**

* * *

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away…

**EPISODE VIII**

**THE RESISTANCE LIVES**

Dysfunction reigns in the galaxy.

The Senate is in disarray under the

leadership of President TYK ZYR, as

rumors of the surviving Sith continue

to spread, and more and more planets

are losing loyalty.

The sinister KYLO REN is the most

hunted fugitive in the galaxy. The

crimes of the SITH IMPERIALISTS

have reached the ears of a new generation

who have sought him out, eager to

learn the ways of the darkside of the Force

from a Skywalker.

Far off in the Outer Rim, on the ocean

planet Threet, a small salvage mission

makes its way to the surface, ready to

decommission one of the last remaining

Imperial Star Destroyers, but a perilous

danger is afoot….

* * *

**CHAPTER I**

From space, Threet always liked like a simple planet; it had no land or clouds, so it could easily mistaken for a blue speck. Right now, a ship was beginning its docking procedure, ready to land.

The Valiant was one of the few remaining Coalition ships. The Coalition had been established under President Organa's administration in order to galvanize the democratic planets, but under the current one had been mostly sidelined for minor missions. Still, in the last three years, several Star Destroyers had been found, decommissioned, and destroyed, ending all remnants of the former Empire. This one had been located on Threet, submerged somewhere in its waters, and was believed to be the last one officially registered.

The crew of the Valiant, consisting of five Coalition members, prepared for their descent. This would be a nice final mission before heading back to Coruscant.

* * *

Kylo Ren awoke with a jolt. He looked like hell, but being a fugitive for three years had a way of doing that to you. He had, as of late, stopped wearing his mask, though he kept it by his side at all times. His face was round, accompanied by his long, greasy black hair. A large scar covered his face, right were Luke Skywalker had struck him in their last duel. It was a shame he still lived with.

He had spent the last three years slowly seeking out the few remaining members of the Sith Imperialists who had run off since the loss of the Finalizer at the Battle of Hosnian Prime. In addition to them, he had sought out other darkside Force-users, hoping to spread the ways of the Sith. But, he had become the most hunted fugitive in the galaxy in the time that had passed, and so he had simply let rumors of his name spread while he took refuge on the Supremacy, the last Star Destroyer. He had then crash-landed it onto Threet in order to avoid detection and had lived there all alone ever since. Until now.

The Valiant was landing on the ocean of Threet, near the Supremacy. The crew stepped out, ready to salvage what they could from the ship.

Ren took a look at those disembarking, getting a good feel for them. He could easily Force-choke all of them if he had to, but he'd prefer to leave one alive if he could, if only to spread his name.

As he prepared to step forward, suddenly large shots were fired at the Valiant!

"What's going on?" the crew members asked, looking confused, but two were gunned down. Ren looked and saw a tie-fighter had dropped down from the sky. With only a few shots, it destroyed the Valiant in one large explosion!

The three remaining crew members fell to the ocean, and began to try and swim towards the Supremacy. Just as they did, the tie-fighter coasted into the ocean and came to a stop only a few feet away from them.

"Stop where you are, coalition scum!" a woman's voice yelled.

And out of the tie-fighter, a tall blonde woman emerged. She was wearing traditional Sith garbs, though her hood had fallen off. She raised her hand and immediately began to Force-choke all three of the crew members.

Ren was in awe. The Force was strong with this woman; he had never seen anyone like this ever before. He decided to reveal himself. He emerged from the Supremacy's wreckage.

"Release them!" he cried. The woman looked at him, but kept her grip on her prey.

"So you've decided to show yourself, Kylo Ren."

"You are one of the Sith I have been seeking," he said, "And I appreciate you coming here today, but let me take care of these myself."

"Very well."

She released them and he immediately Force-choked them to death! It felt good.

"What's your name?" he asked this woman.

"I am Darth Phasma," she said, "And I see I've learned what most excites you. I came to seek you out. To tell you that a group of Sith rebels are gathering on Parnassos."

"A gathering?"

"The Sith are finally rebuilding," she said, "Finally there are enough of us to have learned from Darth Sidious's legacy. We all have heard stories of you; we want you to join us."

"Lead the way," Kylo Ren said, "I'll follow you in my Star Destroyer."

"That thing can still fly?"

"Just watch."

And as Darth Phasma flew out of Threet's orbit, she was surprised to see the Supremacy follow behind her, piloted entirely by Ren. She felt good, knowing she had made her conquest.


	2. The Spice Mines of Kessel

**CHAPTER II**

On the far moon of Kessel, one lone X-wing was making its way towards a certain base.

In the pilot's seat, a young woman drove the ship, though not with the best of ease. Over the last three years, Rey had continued her flight training, and gotten herself as far away from Coruscant as possible.

"Come in, Rey," a familiar voice said over the radio, "Do you copy?"

"I copy, Finn," she said with a smile, "It's good to hear your voice, my friend."

"Be careful with the landing. We don't need another busted X-wing."

"I know a thing or two about flying," she said, "I've come a long way since the Falcon. See you on the ground."

As she turned off the radio, her ship's droid, as well as old friend, VP-3, said, "With all due respect, Madame Rey, you aren't going to land without the autopilot again, are you?"

"You can bet I am, Veep," she said, "And you can stop with that 'madame' nonsense."

She descended into the moon's orbit.

* * *

Once on the moon of Kessel, which consisted of red sand, the X-wing flew over several glaciers. Rey looked on the surface and saw several tauntauns grazing and running wildly. Finally she landed inside a large crater. Once the X-wing come to a complete stop, she popped open the hatch, took off her helmet, and stuck her head out. Her brown hair had grown over the years and come a long way since her early days on Naragna.

"Kessel is exactly what I thought it would be, Veep. Why is the sand red?"

"That isn't sand. Those are the spice mines."

"It smells like-salt," Rey said, "I could smell it as soon as we landed."

"These are among the finest and most refined spices in the galaxy."

Rey unplugged Veep and carried him in her left hand as she walked on the surface, leaving red footprints behind her. She kept her right hand close to her lightsaber at all times.

After walking for a bit, a figure appeared before her. Rey pulled out her lightsaber and ignited its. Its magenta blade shot out.

"Many come to Kessel-" the figure said.

"-but few return to the light of Tatooine," Rey responded.

The figure smiled and beckoned her forward.

"You know the passcode. Come with me."

Rey was led into a small cave and entered the Resistance Base. She now caught a much better look at the figure who had greeted her. He was a tall Melkanian, a species that had mandibles.

"So you're the famous Rey from Nowhere, the last person to train with Luke Skywalker?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"Commander Pik," he answered, "Finn told us all about you. He said you've spent the last few years-"

"On my own," she answered, "That's all you need to know. What's going on in this Resistance Base?"

"We're putting together a new Coalition. President Zyr is impotent, and he's no threat for the upcoming Sith."

"Yes, I've sensed them for a while now."

"Finn wanted to meet you. He's on the other side of the base-"

"Do you have a place I can rest until he arrives?"

"This way."

They passed several corridors of resistance fighters and various spacecrafts. Rey was happy to see how big the Resistance was, and how much it had grown.

She was led to a small room that was made her quarters.

"I'd like to be on my own for a moment, if you don't mind."

Commander Pik walked away. Rey put Veep down on the ground, where he began to roll forward, then sat down and began to meditate and connect with the Force.

"You tried your best," a familiar voice said.

She looked up and saw the Force-ghost of her mentor, and old friend, Luke Skywalker.

"I miss you, Luke," she said sadly, "I miss you, Han, and Leia all so much."

"We died happily," Luke said, "We lived the rest of our days in Han's castle in peace. Takodana was beautiful."

"I know," Rey said.

"Leia and Han are both at peace now. They died believing their son was redeemed, and I was happy to be able to give them that gift. I passed shortly after."

"I wish I could talk to them the way I can to you."

"Only the Jedi have this power. And I'll always be with you. I know what you've been up to the last few years, Rey from Nowhere. You've-"

"-been searching for my parents."

"Trying to find the mother named Cala, and the father with no name."

"I just want to know who I am, but there's no trace of them."

"Trust the Force, Rey. It'll take you where you need to be."

"There's just so much I want to know-"

"Focus on the here and now. Because the darkside is rising."

Rey paused, taking this in.

And then Luke faded away.


	3. A New Jedi

**CHAPTER III**

Rey only had a few minutes to recover from her conversation with the Force-ghost before hearing the familiar sound of a Wookiee roaring.

She turned around and gave Udo a big hug, then saw Finn standing right beside him.

"Rey!" he said with a big smile as he gave her a hug as well. Even Veep was welcomed as part of the group.

"How have you been, Udo?" Rey asked, "It's probably been hard since Chewie died."

Udo have a loud road, then growled a bit. Rey tried to follow, but even in the last three years, she still hadn't been able to become fully fluent in Wookiee.

The group was joined by Commander Pik, who stepped forward.

"I hate to interrupt, but I need to show Rey around."

"We'll join you," Finn said, "I love getting the base tour."

* * *

Pik walked them through the base, showing off all the X-wings, U-wings, and Resistance fighters. The entire interior of the planet had been turned into a large bunker.

"We really lucked out," Pik said, "A former spice mine is a perfect location for a military base. The area's already been hollowed out, and there are nooks and crannies everywhere."

"This is most impressive," Veep said as he rolled along the floor.

"But what's the objective?" Rey asked, "How can we know about the Sith uprising?

"That's the funny thing," Pik said, "Something about Kessel seems to be Force-sensitive. We believe it may be the first Force-sensitive planet in history, and it has a twin planet out there."

"How can you know that?" Finn asked.

"When we first settled here, we noticed that the planet had a reaction to those with the Force. Over time, the spices darkened as the rising Sith grew as a threat. The more powerful the Sith become, the more this planet is affected."

"What do mean, a twin planet?" Rey asked.

"Whatever forces brought Kessel into existence is manifesting somewhere else in the galaxy."

"I am picking up strong energy readings from this core," Veep chimed in, "There's a source to all the planet's ability. I think I can pinpoint it-"

"I feel it too," Rey said, "The Force is strong here, but it's coming from some place on the planet. Was there any indigenous life before the Resistance set up its base here?"

"I don't believe so-" Pik began, but Veep suddenly made a noise.

"I have pinpointed the source. It's forty-eight degrees longitude from here."

And Veep broadcast a hologram of a planet-wide map. Kessel was large and mostly barren; the pinpointed area was a tiny mark on the opposite side of where the spice mines were.

"Perhaps we can send an expedition there," Pik suggested.

"I'll run a scan on all I know about Kessel," Veep said.

Rey noticed that Finn seemed a little distracted, and pulled him aside, letting Veep and Udo work with the Resistance soldiers while they talked in a closet.

"What's wrong, Finn?"

"I've felt shaky the last few months," he admitted, "Something's wrong with me. Sometimes I just want to grab one of the blasters and-"

Rey gave him a strong look, and Finn did a best to get a grip on himself. And suddenly Rey understood.

Finn had been bred in a lab, a clone created to be a soldier for Kylo Ren and the Sith Imperialists. By luck, he had managed to gain autonomy and defected. For three years, he had managed to think for himself, have an identity, and not be part of a collective. But now it was taking its toll. The entire concept of peacetime, of not being a soldier pulling a trigger, all went against Finn's programming. He was fidgety, unhappy, confused.

"Keep it together, Finn," she said sternly, and he nodded. Something about her presence always gave him strength.

Still, Finn had a very severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he looked ready to crack.

"Guys," Pik called out, "The droid has something to report."

The two rejoined the meeting, where Veep had finished his scan.

"I have found one record in my database that overlaps with Kessel," Veep announced, "One of Master Skywalker's missing students, who defected before Ben Solo's rebellion. He disappeared, but was last seen setting a course for Kessel."

"Luke's students?" Rey was confused. She remembered all the conversations she had had with Luke during their training together in the cave on Hosnian Prime. Luke only ever talked about Ben Solo's turn to the darkside, how he had recruited half of the other students to go with him and murdered the other half.

"His name is Kur Wendar," Veep said, "Age: nineteen. And he's a Jedi."

"This Kur Wendar must be the answer to all this," Finn said, "Something about the way he's using the Force is affecting the planet, and he might be behind the creation of that other planet."

"To create an entire planet is a power I've never heard of anyone having, not even through the Force!" Pik said.

But as the two continued talking, Rey found her minded flooded.

_Kur Wendar_, she thought, _I don't know who he is, but just think. A Jedi master younger than I am, who can somehow control entire planets. And he trained under Luke. He must be at the center of all this! I must find him! He's the one who'll finally show me who my parents are!_


	4. A Rally of Sith

**CHAPTER IV**

Parnassos was a forest planet, consisting entirely of trees and a sky that was always dark yellow. It had no meadows, no buildings. It just had the appearance of a dead-end world that the galaxy had urinated on.

Kylo Ren was not impressed. But Darth Phasma had led him here in good faith, and he now felt that the planet was overwhelmed by the Force, and with darkside-users.

He parked his Star Destroyer on the surface. He exited, and saw Phasma exit her craft, walking with perfect grace, her blonde hair descending from under her hood, her eyes a piercing blue.

"Come out, you festering rats!" she called, and within a few seconds, several hordes of people and creatures emerged out from behind the trees. It felt as if every single darkside-user of the Force currently alive had come to a large gathering.

Kylo Ren had never felt so much of the darkside before. He had never seen so many members of the Sith before, all in hoods. There were even several Sith Inquisitors. One, a bald-headed man, looked very intimidating indeed.

"As you can see," Phasma said to Ren with a smirk, "We've long done away with the silly Rule of Two. If the Sith are going to reconquer the galaxy, we need manpower. And we need the ideology of the Sith Imperialists. We're all here to continue what you started."

Ren was honored. After three years of being on the run, someone appreciated what he had done.

"Thank you, Phasma," he said, admiring her locks of golden hair, "But I am only continuing what my grandfather, Darth Vader, truly started."

"And I suppose Sidious before him," she asked, but Ren frowned.

While the entire galaxy knew the name of Sheev Palpatine and the ruthless dictatorship he had presided over for twenty-three miserable years, as well as how he had been a Sith Lord who went by the name Darth Sidious, Ren held no respect for him. Palpatine may have been a Sith, but all he had used this for was to become a power-hungry monster and made others fear him. As far as Ren could see, Palpatine had only been a more successful version of what the sniveling President Zyr currently was on Coruscant.

Vader, on the other hand, had been a true believer. Vader had used the darkside in ways more powerful than any had known. Perhaps there might have been other Sith before him who had been more powerful, but Vader was the de facto icon of everything a Sith should be: a warrior, resolute, and fully in control of the Force.

The rally began and Phasma stood before the gathering.

"My fellow Sith, I have tracked him down. The founder of the Sith Imperialists and the most hunted man in the galaxy. He is going to lead us to victory. Vader's grandson: Kylo Ren!"

And Ren stood at the center of the rally with thunderous applause.

"Thank you," Ren said, not really being very good at giving speeches, "I started the Sith Imperialists because I knew we needed to rebuild. We need to put aside what Darth Bane taught us and learn to work in teams greater than two."

"The Force is strong with him," the bald-headed Sith Inquisitor said, and everyone applauded again.

"There has been a disturbance in the Force," Phasma said, "But it's a disturbance in our favor. The darkside is stronger than it has been since the days of Vader, and we must learn to work as a team in order to harness it. I say we head to Coruscant and overthrow the president!"

This received some cheers, but Ren spoke up.

"My friends, overthrowing a government and seeking political power is foolish. My mother was a lifelong politician-yes, I know many of you know who she was-and I can assure you that her life was an unhappy one. Our goal as the Sith should not be politics. It should be a different kind of power. The Force itself. Instead of Coruscant, I say we take down Kessel."

There was murmuring in the crowd.

"Yes, you've all felt it," Ren said, "There's been something happening at Kessel. The young Jedi known as Kur Wendar is living there, using the Force to create planets. I knew Wendar years ago...knew him very well. I say that should be our next plan of attack!"

The Sith roared in agreement, and while it was clear from the look on Darth Phasma's face that she didn't like being overruled, the mob had spoken.

"I will go wherever Kylo Ren commands," the bald-headed Sith Inquisitor said.

As the Sith began to prepare the Star Destroyer with their armada, Ren smiled at his new army. His thoughts shifted to that young woman, Rey, who had appeared in his dreams many times. He had bested her three years ago, and now, without Luke Skywalker to protect her, he was ready to face her again. The Force was strong with her, and if she joined the darkside, their triumph would be complete.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Kessel, most of the Resistance was resting for the night. While Finn and the others were fast asleep, Rey lay in her bed and continued thinking of this mysterious Kur Wendar. She kept reaching out for Luke's Force-ghost, hoping he could help her. Yet he didn't seem to be responding.

She then reached out for Kur. Could this mystery Jedi be the answer?

And suddenly, the Force was pulling her down, to another room. _The answers you seek are in the glassforest._

She wandered through the Resistance Base, until she finally came upon the lowest depth of the spice mines.

Here was an entire mine full of crystals, a glassforest. She stood there in the mines, breathing in the spice, and slowly, the glassforest began to show her visions...


	5. What the Glassforest Revealed

**CHAPTER V**

Rey stood in the glassforest, and slowly the visions came to her, slowly falling into place. Visions from the past.

In the first, there was a charismatic man addressing a large room. This was the Senate chamber on Coruscant. He was talking about something called the Clone Wars, and giving some politician's speech about peacetime. He was introduced as Chancellor Palpatine.

_Palpatine?_ Rey thought, _Is this Sheev Palpatine? It must be. I don't think the galaxy ever had another chancellor with that name. But he looks normal! This must be before his famous deformity happened._

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the next vision.

* * *

In the second vision, she saw the man's office. Palpatine was speaking with the Jedi Council; there was tension between them, but the Jedi were courteous, and addressed him as Chancellor. Once left alone, he pressed a button and a hologram was broadcast on his desk. Palpatine began speaking to this man, named Count Dooku. Dooku in turn addressed Palpatine as Darth Sidious.

_It is him!_ Rey thought, _The same Palpatine who was secretly a Sith Lord and the galaxy's greatest monster!_

The two men discussed a plan: the Separtist Droid Army was going to sweep into the Republic capital the next day and kidnap Palpatine as a hostage. Count Dooku insisted that Gen. Grievous and his strike team would not harm Palpatine as their hostage. Palpatine in turn insisted that this plan would lure the Jedi out so that Dooku would finally get his revenge.

After the transmission ended, Palpatine then opened a private door in his office, and there was a young woman. She was very sad, but flirted with Palpatine.

Rey slowly realized that she was his mistress. Palpatine was an older man (65 years old, to be exact-Rey could feel it), and she was very young, but she didn't seem to care. After all, he was the most powerful man in the galaxy, and this mistress was attracted to his power. Rey reached deeper into the Force, and sensed that her name was Portia. Even more, Portia was pregnant, but she was too scared to tell him yet.

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the next vision.

* * *

In the third vision, Rey saw the same Senate chamber, but a different speech was happening. Only a few months had passed.

"The Jedi Rebellion has been foiled!" a hooded figure addressed the crowd, and Rey realized it was Palpatine, but it was after his deformity. He now looked like the Emperor Palpatine she had long heard described.

"The Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!" he bellowed, followed by thunderous applause.

And Rey suddenly pinpointed something else happening somewhere in the building: Portia was running off with her newborn. Portia was mortified of Palpatine, of what her former lover had become, and in her arms she held a swaddling baby, a boy named Cos. She ran because she didn't want him to know the truth.

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the next vision.

* * *

In the fourth vision, it was a few years later, and Portia was living on some dingy planet. She lived in a small dwelling with Cos, a six-year-old impoverished boy. Outside the streets were manned by Stormtroopers. Everyone was miserable, living under a dictatorship.

Suddenly Stormtroopers came barging in, breaking down the door.

"You're her?" they asked, "The Emperor's former paramour? You've been in hiding."

"I don't know what you mean!" Portia began, but she was a bad liar. She turned to her son, "Cos! Run!"

And in that moment, Portia was brutally murdered! But the little boy ran!

The chase continued out into the streets; the little boy was nimble and knew how to navigate. Rey could sense his sadness at losing his mother, but he had no time to process this. He ran and was able to escape.

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the next vision.

* * *

In the fifth vision, Rey saw a cantina on some remote planet. It was an uncharted place in the middle of nowhere. There was a lot of commotion about something: the second Death Star had just been destroyed. Even more importantly, Emperor Palpatine was onboard and has now died. Everyone was talking about what this meant, how the Empire would now collapse and the dictatorship was finally over. But one man was not so happy. It was Cos, now a 23-year-old. He looked familiar to Rey, but she couldn't quite place him.

"It's over," a friend of his whispered to him, "You don't have to hide anymore."

"Now that he's dead, they'll come looking for me," Cos said, "In fact, even more people might want me dead."

"What are you talking about?" the friend asked, "Hardly anyone knew about you in the first place. You barely even looked like him. Plus he was what, 88 years old? No one could connect you to him."

"They will," Cos said.

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the next vision.

* * *

The sixth vision confirmed what Rey had started to suspect. Cos was now older (34 years old, to be exact, Rey could feel it) and he had grown to look exactly how Rey remembered him. He was inside the remote and modest place he called his home on some desert planet, talking to his pregnant wife, named Cala. Rey knew the face of her father when he was sad and the face of her mother when she looked frustrated. She had seen their faces so many times.

"How could you have kept this from me all this time?" Cala asked, "You told me your father was just some drifter!"

"I've kept it a secret my whole life," Cos said defensively, "I wanted to pretend it wasn't true, to avoid being killed! I thought the persecution was finally over, but now there's a bounty on my head! They've found out the truth."

"How?"

"Mandalorians are the best bounty hunters in the galaxy for a reason."

"What about our child?" Cala said, pointing to her belly.

"Bounty hunters will come after him or her too. We need to keep you safe."

And with the breeze of the glassforest, Rey found herself in the last vision.

* * *

The final vision was the one she knew was coming. Her parents were abandoning her on Naragna. They were making the same expressions she had seen them make so many times before.

"She'll be safe here," Cos said.

And as the starship set off, leaving the infant Rey alone, it entered the atmosphere, where it was immediately attacked up by another ship.

Bounty hunters. Manadalorians. On board, Cos and Cala saw their fate, then held each other tightly, before Cos pulled out a small flask he kept in his boot. It was poison.

With quick sips, the two committed suicide. The Mandalorians would take their bodies and claim the bounty, never becoming aware of the child's existence.

* * *

The visions ended, and Rey was once more just a person alone in the glassforest, taking all this in.

At long last, she knew where she had come from. Emperor Palpatine had been her grandfather.

History's greatest monster, a dictator who had murdered millions-and she was his only living kin.


	6. An Attack From the Heavens

**CHAPTER VI**

Finn was up bright and early, and was chatting happily with Udo as the Resistance gossiped around the breakfast table. Commander Pik was worried, but the mood was overall happy.

Rey stood apart from all this. She had spent a long sleepless night, her mind racing to a thousand places. She had spent years looking for signs of her parents, her family. She had wanted to know who they were, and by extension, who _she_ was. Now she knew. And it petrified her.

So-her name was Rey Palpatine. History's greatest monster had been her grandfather. The millions he had ordered murdered. The entire population of Alderaan, and the subjugation of so many planets. The entire Jedi Council. All the blood that had been on his hands; was it now on her hands? Could she ever look herself in the mirror again and not see genocide?

But wait, why did she have to think that way?

Everyone had said he was a monster, talked about how horrible life had been under the Empire. But did they know? Who decided what was right and wrong?

She thought of her time on Coruscant, where she had watched President Leia Organa, a good and decent woman, strive her entire life to create the New Republic, only for it to slowly lose its way, and for her to be voted out of office by dirty tactics. Tyk Zyr was now the democratically-elected president, and he was far from a saint.

Might the galaxy be better run as an Empire after all? And if so, could she lay the claim to be its Empress? Was that her right?

As she was processing this, suddenly a signal came in that alerted the entire base.

"What's going on?" Pik asked.

Veep was plugged in to the base's control stations, and said:

"A Star Destroyer is in range."

Finn stood up and grabbed his blaster.

"They've come for us. I'm ready to fight!"

But Rey only felt a dark premonition. She was less concerned with fighting whoever was on that Star Destroyer as she was with finding this Kur Wendar. And she had to go alone.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the entire base was up in arms, preparing their defensive. Rey realized she had to say goodbye to Finn, as there was a strong possibility she might not see him again. And he deserved to know the truth.

As he was prepping for battle, she pulled him away.

"What is it, Rey? We need to get ready-"

"I'm not joining you all, Finn."

Finn was incredulous.

"What?"

"I'm leaving to seek the young Jedi. I need his help."

"But we're-"

"Finn, I may not see you again, so I want you to know the truth: you know how I was looking for my parents?"

Finn's confusion now turned to anger.

"What does any of this have to do with that? Are you gonna tell me you found your parents after all?"

"I found out who my family is. Emperor Palpatine-I'm his only living descendant."

Finn stopped, as if all the air had been let out of his sails. She was serious. He had no idea how she knew what she had found out, but it was clear she knew it, and was very resolute.

"Rey, you-you really need to keep that a secret. People will kill you when they find out. They'll blame you for everything he did. They might even say you'll try to claim the galaxy for yourself as an Empress. Zyr would be the first in line to have you assassinated. Actually, so would a ton of bounty hunters, just for the sport of it."

Rey said nothing, and somehow Finn thought he sensed contempt in her. For the first time, he wondered: did _she_ believe she should be Empress? It was as if she had acquired a God complex overnight.

"Why are you leaving then?" Finn asked, "If what you say is true, what is this Jedi going to do about it?"

"I learned what I learnt from the glassforest in the mines."

"What?"

"The mines! The Force is really strong with this planet, and he has something to do with it."

Right at that moment, shooting was heard! The Resistance members exited the base and looked up at the Kessel sky. Several tie-fighters were dropping down from the Star Destroyer and were landing on the planet.

_Kylo Ren is here!_ Rey thought, but she bit her tongue. She knew how much Finn feared that name, and hearing it now would only set off his anxiety further.

The tie-fighters began shooting their blasters into the spice-covered surface of the planet! The Resistance members all ran in every direction! There was chaos and confusion!

For a moment, Finn was lost, only able to see clouds of spice.

"Rey?" he called out.

But after a silence, only a familiar Wookiee cry was heard.

"Udo!" Finn called, and was then reunited with his friend. Wherever Rey had disappeared to, she was on her own. Finn could only think of the danger ahead.

* * *

Rey had run as fast as she could during the confusion. She could hear the battle behind her, but she forged on ahead, feeling where the Force was leading her.

_Alright, Kur Wendar. I'm going to find out who you are._


	7. The Battle of Kessel

**CHAPTER VII**

The battle was swift.

No sooner had Kessel come into range than the Star Destroyer began sending down tie-fighters. Kylo Ren had not been content to command; he wanted to be on the ground.

* * *

On the ground, the Resistance only saw a swarm of tie-fighters descending before the chaos began. As shots were fired, the spice from the surface exploded in clouds, as if the planet itself was bleeding!

Finn did his best to run through the clouds and blasts, and somewhere in the distance, could vaguely make out Udo's roars!

The Resistance was slowly being taken out. Every blast from every tie-fighter took another soldier down. Other spacecrafts were descending as well: some shapes that Finn had never seen before.

The spacecrafts began to land, and slowly, out of the clouds of spice, figures began to emerge. Darth Phasma came first, her blonde hair blowing in the wind beneath her robe. The bald-headed Sith Inquisitor also came forth, using the Force with just the most casual wave of his fingers.

No one in the Resistance had ever seen so many Sith before. To those who were Force-sensitive, it was a feeling of pure ice; something sick and twisted riding towards you, as if emptiness coming out of a void and entering tangible reality. Even to those who weren't Force-sensitive, just the sight of the Sith felt off. They looked like more than a threat; they were a perversion of the galaxy.

The planet reacted; perhaps it could feel them too. Perhaps even _it_ had to shudder at them as they walked across its surface.

Commander Pik ran forward, shooting his blaster-

-only to be immediately lifted up off the ground, pulled by the throat, levitating! All the air left his lungs, and as he reached for his throat, he realized he was being Force-choked!

He turned around to find a young man behind him with an angry face, greasy hair, and a mouth contorted with rage. Although he had never met him before, nor had heard what he must look like without his mask, Pik knew right away that this was Kylo Ren.

"Whatever it is you want," Pik managed to get out, "the Resistance will never kneel to you-"

"What I want is the Jedi."

"I don't-"

"Of course not. You're useless."

And with that, the air was taken out of his lungs, and Commander Pik fell to the ground dead.

* * *

Darth Phasma made her way through the battlefield, emerging through the clouds of spice, making sure to get none of it on her robe. She sensed someone was nearby.

Out of the clouds, Finn emerged with a blaster, shooting at her!

Phasma only had to raise her hand to make the blasts stop in mid-air.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Finn didn't wait around to answer. He darted for the nearby tie-fighter, hoping to board, wondering how far he could fly off-

-but he was pulled back. He realized the full weight of the Force was grabbing hold of him. Finally it pinned him to the ground!

Finn only lay there, out of breath, as he saw Phasma loom over him.

"You're a clone, aren't you?" Phasma said, "I've seen other soldiers who looked like you."

"Yes," another voice said, "I recognize him. He was one of ours."

And Finn saw Kylo Ren walking over, recognizing him.

"You. You know Rey."

"I'm-not talking-" Finn tried to get out.

"Take him prisoner," Ren said casually, "We have our first prisoner of war-"

At that moment, Udo attacked him!

Ren recognized Udo and did his best to fight him off; it was tough taking on any Wookiee in combat. But eventually, he had to resort to Force-choking. Udo brought his hands to his throat and roared loudly in agony!

"Just like your uncle," Ren said, "Chewbacca was stupidly loyal to my father, and you're stupidly loyal to this traitor. I suppose you think he's a fun-loving scoundrel too. Well, I'll show you."

With a wave of his hand, he knocked both Finn and Udo out unconscious.

"I'm taking these two prisoners back to the Star Destroyer," he told Phasma, "You can search for the Jedi all you want. These two will be having a lot of fun in my torture chamber."

"I don't think they know any information," Phasma said.

"That doesn't matter," Ren said, "I'm just going to torture them."

And he escorted the two prisoners back into space, letting the Sith take Kessel. He felt good, not only for capturing this rebel scum, but for truly being a commander again. All in all, the battle hadn't been such a bad victory for the Sith.


	8. The Grace of the Jedi

**CHAPTER VIII**

Rey had been walking through the barren wastelands of Kessel for some time. She had heard all the signs of the battle behind her, and it had pained her to not be involved, but the call of Kur Wendar was too strong to ignore. And so she had walked ahead for hours, making her way through miles and miles of sterile land.

Finally, just as the pull of the Force was its strongest, she came towards a precipice.

_This is it_, she thought, _Is this the opening of some cave or chasm? Is this where he lives?_

But as she reached the edge, she peered over to see nothing there.

For a moment she hesitated-

-and then suddenly was pulled forward, straight off the precipice! It dawned on her for an instant that something invisible was beneath her when she was already going through the barrier and inside-whatever it was!

It was some sort of sphere-shaped craft, and a young man was holding his fist out. He had used the Force to grab her, and for a moment, Rey wondered if she was being Force-choked, then realized she was only being paralyzed, yet with a feeling of peace. She strained to get a better look at her surroundings.

The inside of the sphere was a golden room, with a diameter of about ten feet. It was odd to think they were inside this golden orb, which had been completely invisible from the exterior, and which she had simply been pulled through a barrier as soft as just passing through a charming breeze. Stranger still was the young man inside.

He was indeed young; younger than she. He looked like a boy, one who would still be training in some academy, hardly old enough to know how to pilot a ship. He was dressed all in bright yellow, but otherwise had a round face with a mischievous grin. Rey knew right away this was Kur Wendar.

"Hello," Kur said quietly, while levitating her, rotating her in mid-air, "I see I have an intruder in my midst. Who said you were welcome in the Golden Sphere?"

"Your name is Kur," Rey said, though it was hard to concentrate.

"That's right," the strange young man said, smiling as he floated around in his sphere.

"You were one of Luke Skywalker's students. You defected before-"

"Before Ben Solo became Kylo Ren."

He threw her to the floor-or at least as close a floor as it could be called. It was just the bottom of the sphere. However, the impact did not hurt; once again, Rey observed, it was like being thrown against a barrier consisting of a hard breeze.

Kur pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it.

Rey immediately was back on her feet and ignited her own, just in time to defend herself before he came at her. The two swung their sabers at one another, jumping onto the walls of the sphere. Rey had never had a lightsaber duel in such an enclosed space before.

"Stop all this!" she said, "I'm not your enemy! I came here because I want to talk to you-"

"Did Kylo Ren send you?" Kur asked, "I sense that he's here!"

"He is after me!" she said, "I sensed-"

"We were two of Master Skywalker's last students," Kur went on. He clearly enjoyed talking about himself, "It was Ben and I, the two great minds of his class. We went our separate ways. And now I know that Master Skywalker is dead. I have felt his presence be absorbed by the Force."

Rey sighed. Had all of Luke's students turned out so obnoxious?

"Will all due respect, Master Wendar, neither of you were Luke Skywalker's last student. _I_ was. He trained me on Hosnian Prime just before he died."

Kur froze for a second, then put his lightsaber away.

"I search through my feelings, and I find you speak true. Who are you?"

"My name is Rey."

He looked at her, as if trying to make sense of her, then turned away.

"I sensed I should look for you," Rey said, glad they had finally calmed down. She put away her lightsaber, "What is this place?"

"The Golden Sphere is my creation. Using the Force, I have learned how to reshape matter."

And with that, the walls of the sphere became translucent. Rey found herself still standing on the barrier, but could see right through the walls of the sphere, out at the barren wastelands of Kessel. And before she knew it, they were rising. The sphere was going up, up, higher into the sky. She looked down and saw the spice-covered ground shooting further and further away; then looked upward and saw the sky coming toward them, until they were passing through the atmosphere.

"Is this a spacecraft?" she asked, "Can we survive through space, the same as any ship?"

"Yes," Kur said, "We can't move too far away from the planet, but we can just leave the atmosphere."

And with that, they were in the black depths of outer space. Rey looked to see the entire planet just under them, a nice maroon orb, and an armada of Star Destroyers and tie-righters right in front of them, having blockaded Kessel. Beyond that was the sea of endless stars.

"You have an interesting story, Rey," he said, "and a complicated past. I see it now. All checkered and fractured. Perhaps the galaxy isn't quite through with you."

"But what happened to you?" Rey asked, "After you defected, you came here to Kessel. What is it you did here? Why is the planet apparently Force-sensitive? And why does it have a twin planet out there?"

Kur smiled, "I told you I could use the Force to reshape matter."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this?"

Rey was losing patience, but he was only grinning wider.

"Haven't you guessed yet? This planet is me."


	9. A Whole New Galaxy

**CHAPTER IX**

Over the next few days, Rey learned all of Kur's story.

At least she thought it was days. It was hard to tell how time elapsed while inside the Golden Sphere. The two would communicate as they levitated in Kessel's atmosphere, watching the winds blow on the wastelands beneath them, the hours stretching by as the three suns crawled across the sky. Being inside the Golden Sphere was like being in some otherworldly portal.

She soon learned: Kur had discovered how to upload his consciousness into a planet. He had come to Kessel, a lifeless planet years ago, to first try this out, and started the process through constant meditation. Now that he had succeeded with a pre-existing planet, he was using his strength to create an entirely new planet from scratch. This was Kessel's twin, currently being cultivated on the other side of the galaxy.

"But-this power-" Rey said, shocked, "Is this part of the darkside-"

"It's neither the light nor darkside," Kur explained, "It's simply the Force itself."

"But no one's ever done it before! Luke didn't know of this. All the stories he told me about Yoda or Master Kenobi-"

"The Force is affected by all of us; there are moments of division, moments of peace. Sometimes, after many millennia, it will suddenly take an enormous leap in ability."

Rey had to marvel at this. Kur was now the first to discover this new power, and it had taken him years to do it. Imagine what a whole army of Jedi knights could do. Or any Force-users for that matter.

Here she was, fighting these Resistance battles against the Sith, when they could be creating entire galaxies together. And of course, considering she was the Empress Palpatine, it could be her very own galaxy to reign over. This did make her smile.

At night, they slept. Kur would bring the Golden Sphere down to the planet surface, then levitate in his sleep. Rey would often struggle to fall asleep, knowing she would begin levitating as soon as she dozed off. On this night, she had a new idea. It was time to finally pay an old acquaintance a visit.

She called to the darkside.

* * *

_Kylo Ren was commanding a squad of Sith Imperialists through the old Death Star. They all saluted him as they turned the hallways, showing him the same reverence that they would have had for the great Darth Vader. But as they turned, suddenly the Death Star gave away to nothingness, and there stood Rey._

"_You?" he said, then realized, "Get out of my dreams!"_

"_Hello, Ben," she said, "I haven't entered your dreams in a long time. And I wouldn't do it now if I didn't have something to say."_

"_Your friend Finn is being tortured right now, aboard this very Star Destroyer, only four rooms away! Do you feel no shame in that?"_

"_I do. Do you feel no shame in torturing any man only four rooms away from where you comfortably sleep in your bed?"_

"_The world showed no compassion to me. Why should I be merciful?"_

"_Listen, Ben. I've come to parlay."_

_Rey waved her hand and two chairs materialized. She was starting to learn to manipulate the dream world._

"_I don't trust you," he said, but she continued._

"_I believe we can help each other out. If you release Finn, as well as any of my other friends you have captured, I will offer you something in return. It's hard to describe what it is exactly, but just think of it as information that changes everything. A wildcard factor."_

"_What I want is you, not some wildcard."_

"_Look, Ben, are we really going to do this the rest of our lives? Just spend all of eternity chasing the other, appearing in one another's dreams, until one of us kills the other? We can work together, and I've learned something new about the Force, something not related to the Sith."_

"_Funny words coming from someone using the darkside right now."_

_Rey blushed at this last statement. It was true; entering another Force-user's dreams was an ability only possible through the darkside, something he had unknowingly taught her, and a temptation she still felt._

"_Enough talk," Rey said, "Let's meet tomorrow morning in the Waking World. If you send your tie-fighter down with just you and Finn to the exact spot where your attack took place the other day, I will meet you there with a surprise of my own. No weapons, no attacks, no tricks. Just a simple parlay."_

"_Considering I have your friend captured, it seems to me that I'm the one with a little more leverage here. So here's my amendment to your terms: you and 'your surprise' show up at that spot, and we'll keep an eye on you. If all goes well, I may join you, and Finn may or may not get to come along for the ride."_

"_What makes you think I would walk into an ambush?"_

"_This-" he said with a smirk, and showed her a vision of Finn being brutally tortured while tied down in a tray table. It wasn't just the image that hit Rey but the visceral reaction. In dreams, emotions hit you stronger than visuals ever could. While Rey knew that was she was being shown was probably a grotesque exaggeration of Finn's real fate, the emotions were still no less challenging to bear. She grew physically sick at the imagery._

"_ALRIGHT!" she screamed, "Alright, I'll meet you tomorrow, Ben! On your terms. And hopefully, you'll listen to me, and we'll start working together for a new galaxy."_

"_I don't know about that, but I respect your resolve. Goodnight."_

_And Rey vanished from his dream._

* * *

Rey awoke with a jolt, feeling dizzy and sick. Kur still levitated above her.

Rey turned onto the floor and crawled outside of the Golden Sphere, passing through its breeze-like barriers. Once outside and breathing the Kessel air, she vomited out onto the sand. She had never felt as sick and disturbed as she had by the experience of that dream.


	10. Imprisoned

**CHAPTER X**

Finn had been strapped to a gurney for days, his torture ongoing.

The bald-headed Sith Inquisitor had inflicted every single type of pain he knew on his subject, and Finn's screams could be heard from several rooms down. Everyone onboard the Star Destroyer knew they had a prisoner, and knew all that was being done to him!

Finn squirmed, but the restraints held. He had stopped thinking of Rey; he thought only of the other clones created by these monsters; the ones that hadn't been as lucky as in breaking away. Could he help them somehow? And where was Udo? But he only drifted in and out of consciousness.

* * *

Darth Phasma oversaw the torture, the sadism just slightly contained on her lips but pulshing through her golden hair.

It was now the middle of the night, and as she wandered the halls of the Star Destroyer, she saw Kylo Ren emerging from his chambers, having just awoken from what appeared to be a tortured sleep.

"Lord Ren, the prisoner claims to not know where Kur Wendar is. I am more than happy to inflict a few more days of torture-"

"She contacted me in my dreams just now. Rey."

"The Jedi woman?"

"Yes."

"She can enter dreams?"

"She knows the darkside well, things that Skywalker never taught her. Now she's requesting a parlay in a few hours. She claims to have Wendar with her."

"Would she turn him in?"

"In exchange for the prisoner, she might."

"Do you trust her?"

"Oddly enough, I find more in her that I trust than I don't."

Phasma did not seem satisfied.

"There is something you wish to say, Darth Phasma? There's no hierarchy between us. You can always speak your mind."

"Lord Ren, as much as I enjoy torturing this rebel scum, I feel there is more I can be doing for the Sith elsewhere. We've besieged the planet, but what of the next step?"

"Capturing Rey and Wendar _is_ the next step."

"I feel we should think bigger."

"Very well, Phasma. If there's something you wish to be doing, I won't prevent you."

And so, less than an hour later, one lone shuttle discreetly departed from the Star Destroyer. It was a small, crimson-colored speck, piloted only by Darth Phasma. It left Kessel and plummeted away, further and further towards better-known regions of space.

Kylo Ren watched her shuttle leave from the windows of his quarters, not sure where she was going, but more and more confident that she had some surprise planned. In the brief time he had known her, she had always had a few tricks up her sleeve.

* * *

Meanwhile, Finn was struggling to keep his thoughts lucid. All he was conscious of was moments of being tortured and moments where he wasn't but could think of nothing but memories of that torture.

Suddenly his restraints were loosened.

He shook himself awake, trying to piece together what was going on. He was-still in the torture gurney, still onboard the Star Destroyer, but he was alone now. It was-evening? Yes, things seemed to have calmed down. The room was empty. Why-what had freed him?

"You're free, sir," a familiar voice said, and Finn sat up with a jolt. He looked at the floor, and there was Veep, rolling around, having just connected with the room's main computer.

"Veep! How did you get here?"

"After the Resistance fled, I was able to roll onto one of the Sith's command shuttles. No one ever notices a VP-unit."

"You-you've been on this Star Destroyer for days, and no one's noticed you?"

"I've just rolled back and forth through the vessel. Now was the first time I've been able to find you alone."

"What time is it?"

"The middle of the night. Most everyone's asleep."

Finn got out of the gurney and stood up, finding it was a bit difficult to walk.

"It's okay, sir," Veep said, "I'll guide you."

"Where's Udo?"

"I believe the Wookiee is in the lower compartment. A Star Destroyer isn't really designed to hold prisoners."

A few minutes later, Finn was walking through the halls, carrying the droid under his arms, but he was still very weak, and began to worry about fainting.

"I'm losing my sense of direction, Veep," he said, "I think I can keep my strength up, but I might need to rest-"

"Who goes there?"

He spun around to find the bald-headed Sith Inquisitor standing before them.

"So, the prisoner has escaped," he said with a grin, "No matter, I've dealt with escapees before. I find you even more fun to deal with when free than incarcerated. Let's see how you-"

Finn simply shot his blaster and killed him on the spot!

"Good thing he liked to talk too much," Veep said.

"Just like a certain droid I know," Finn responded.

Ten minutes later, Finn now walked the hallways, this time dressed as a Sith Inquisitor. The outfit made him look huge and intimidating. Even Veep seemed scared, being carried in his arms.

"Careful not to squeeze me, sir," he chimed.

Finn waited for the elevator. When it arrived, he discovered it was filled with other Sith, including a scaly-reptile creature. They all stared at him.

"I don't recall seeing you before," the reptile creature said, "What is your name?"

"I am Darth Finn," Finn said in a commanding voice, "and I am in a bad mood! Do you really wish to rouse the ire of a Sith Inquisitor?"

The reptile creature immediately became quiet. Finn gave him a look.

Three stories down, he had the elevator all to himself. He smiled down at Veep, and the elevator continued to descend.


	11. The Battle In the Lab

**CHAPTER XI**

Finn took the elevator all the way down to the bottom floor of the Star Destroyer, holding Veep tightly in his arms.

Finally, he reached the lower level, and while he couldn't know for sure that this was where prisoners were held, it was so dank and unpleasant that he could hardly see it being used for anything else.

But as he walked the corridors, he felt some other type of activity afoot. This was no prison block; some other type of facility had been made out of this bottom floor. It wasn't until he opened a door that he realized he knew exactly what was going on:

It was a cloning facility.

Several Sith Inquisitors were overseeing the process: dozens of babies, all from different species and races, were being grown and cultivated. They were each assigned numbers and were being programmed; this was to be the Sith's future military.

Finn looked at this sight in horror, trying his best to suppress the memories they brought back. This was his own childhood; his entire adolescence. He had been bred in a lab just like this, under the very supervision of the Sith Imperialists.

Furthermore, he could see the cloning being done right at that moment, as two of the Sith were discussing samples.

"We have Mandalorian blood," one was saying, "And Dathomirian. You remember the stories of Darth Maul."

"Yes, but here is the best sample of all," the other Sith said, opening his hands to reveal brown fur, "Wookiee hair. From our prisoner."

And at that, a loud roar was heard. Finn looked and saw a cage was suspended from the top of the room. Inside it was an incarcerated Udo.

"We've never had Wookiee soldiers before," the Sith grinned with each other, "It's a shame they can't use the Force, but at the very least they are a warrior race."

And Finn only had to stare at Udo to see how unhappy he was. The thought that the family-line of Chewbacca would be perverted in this way was horrifying. Worse yet, after the cloning was complete, what would they do to him afterward? What type of cruel experimentation-

"You there!" one of the Sith looked at Finn, "Who are you?"

"I am Darth Finn," Finn said, trying to keep up his facade.

"You're not authorized to be here. And the Force-" The Sith reached out, "I sense nothing on you. Either the Force is very weak with you, or you are no Sith."

Finn pulled out his blaster and began shooting, first at them, then at the cage, freeing Udo!

Suddenly Finn felt himself being grabbed by the collar and hoisted up! The air was being yanked from his lungs, and it dawned on him he was being Force-choked!

"I have him-" the Sith began, then suddenly a Wookiee roar was heard and he was knocked backward! Finn felt the air reenter his lungs, and realized he had been rescued by Udo.

Finn kept shooting, until soon all the Sith were gone. Udo roared, happy to be free.

"Sirs," Veep said, terrified, "If you keep this up, you'll have all of Kylo Ren's forces coming after us!"

"I don't care," Finn said in rage, continuing the fire his blaster away, "I will do everything I can to rescue any clone soldier from living the life I lived!"

* * *

Meanwhile, down on the Kessel surface, it was morning.

Rey and Kur emerged from the Golden Sphere, watching the sunrise of the three suns, marveling at how something so simple could still be so beautiful.

"Why have you waited here, all this time?" Rey asked, "While you have been using the Force and uploading your consciousness into planets, the Resistance has been fighting against Kylo Ren and his followers."

"What do you expect? Do you think the galaxy will ever be at peace? Even if I were to suddenly step in, how would I make every single Sith suddenly see the light?"

"It has to be better than doing nothing. Kylo Ren has captured my friends-"

"And that's why you're betraying Kur," a new voice said. Both turned to find the Force-Ghost of Luke standing in front of them.

"Master Skywalker!" both of them exclaimed in unison.

"Hello, Kur. Hello, Rey," Luke said solemnly, though it was always hard to read emotions when speaking to any ghost, "Life has guided both of you to places I would never have foreseen. One of you has learned to use the Force is ways unlike any Jedi before you, yet you do nothing. And the other one uses the darkside."

Kur was shocked, but Rey stood there without shame.

"It's true, Luke. The darkside gives me power; power I never knew. With it, I can enter Ben Solo's dreams. If only you knew the power of the darkside."

"I've heard that before."

"I won't become like Vader! I won't!"

Luke had no answer. He only stared at her in silent judgment.

"What's going on?" Kur asked, "And what's all this about betraying me?"

"She's planning to turn you in to Kylo Ren this morning in exchange for her friends."

Kur processed this, then looked at Rey accusingly, then took a look at himself.

"Master Skywalker is right; I _have_ been doing nothing against the darkside, so much so that I was blind to it being used right in front of me. Very well, if Kylo Ren wants me as his prisoner, then I will turn myself in. I will gladly sacrifice my life if it means that Rey's friends go free."

"What about my grandfather?" Rey said.

Luke remained quiet while Kur remained dumbfounded.

"I am Rey Palpatine," she said, and Kur gasped.

"You-you sound like you're proud of it."

"I am neither proud of it nor ashamed of it. It just happens to be the truth. And until I figure out who or what to believe, I see nothing wrong with learning to use the darkside of the Force."

"You must choose your own path, Rey from Nowhere," Luke said, "I won't tell you what to do."

And with that, he faded away.

After a second, Kur looked out at the sunrise.

"I will turn myself in," he said, "As for you, Rey Palpatine, I don't believe you are the monster you think you are. Granddaughter or not, I believe there is good in you. We will both see Luke again before this is all over. I believe very much in the Force."


	12. The Parlay

**CHAPTER XII**

Kylo Ren was just getting over the rest of the sleepless night in his chambers when there was a knock on his door.

Outside, he was saluted by a soldier and immediately informed of the uprising down below.

"The prisoner has escaped and infiltrated the cloning facility. And the Wookiee is with him."

"What of the Sith Inquisitors who were doing the cloning?"

"We've lost contact with them."

"Shut down all elevators!" Ren ordered, "Quarantine the lower level; no one goes in or out! Can we gas the whole level?"

"The gassing functions on this Star Destroyer are no longer operational."

"Very well. Just leave them down there. Two rebels trapped on a floor with no food or water won't last long. After they get through whatever Inquisitors are there, they'll be starved out."

Of course, no longer having Finn and Udo as leverage would hurt his negotiations with Rey in the next hour. But he knew he had the higher ground, and he was sure he could be a match for her.

He started getting ready.

* * *

Finn, Udo, and Veep soon became aware of their predicament. They had expected every single Sith and soldier aboard the Star Destroyer to charge at them. But after a few minutes, they realized nothing was coming.

"Veep, what's happening with the elevators?"

Veep rolled across the floor, then plugged into the wall.

"I'm afraid they've been shut down and are no longer operational."

"Can't you override them?"

"Negative, sir. It is a complete lock-down."

"We've been cut off," Finn said as Udo roared in frustration, "They intend to keep us here and starve us out!"

He began looking around the facility. There were only a few baby-clones in their pods, some sleeping away, others crying or looking scared. Soon, a plan started to formulate in his head.

"Veep, how many species of clones are in this room?"

"Only twelve, sir, all from different species."

"And are any of them Force-sensitive?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then this is the future," Finn said triumphantly, "They may only be infants, but they can help. This is the next generation of clone soldiers. _They_ are the Resistance. The Resistance lives!"

* * *

Rey and Kur Wendar stood on the planet surface at the appointed time. The tension between them could be cut with a knife.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Rey said.

"You would," Kur responded, "But I believe there's more to you than meets the eye, Rey Palpatine."

Rey smirked a bit. She found that she wasn't so afraid of her last name anymore. Truth was, she liked having a surname, _any_ surname. Saying it in full rolled off the tongue very nicely.

After a few minutes, Kylo Ren's shuttle could be seen descending from the sky. Rey grabbed her lightsaber in fear, preparing to see him again. It would be her first time seeing him in person in three years.

Eventually, the shuttle landed right in front of them. Kylo Ren emerged without his mask, the scar across his face still prominent. Two other Sith Lords stood behind him as he surveyed Kur and Rey.

"Hello, Kur," he said, staring at him with eyes that seemed much older than they were, "You've come a long way since we were Skywalker's students. I understand you've had a breakthrough in the Force. You always were the most pensive student."

"And you were always the strongest, Ben," Kur replied, "Anyway, I've been foolish all these years. I kept myself busy on the planet, meditating, doing new things with the Force, but all the while I've ignored you and the new rise of the Sith. No longer. I willingly surrender myself to you."

Kylo Ren smiled, then turned to Rey.

"It's been a long time since I saw you in person, Rey. Three years I believe."

"Yes, the day you murdered Chewbacca and tried to murder your parents," Rey said defiantly, "You are not Ben Solo. Ben Solo died that day. Now that I see your face in person again, outside of a dream, Kylo Ren is as good a name for you as any."

"The Force is strong with you," he replied coolly, "I sense the darkside."

"Enough of this," Rey said, "I thought this was a prisoner exchange. Where are Finn and Udo?"

"I'm afraid I cannot take prisoners off the vessel where they can easily escape or I can be ambushed. They had to remain aboard the Star Destroyer. But you're welcome to come back up with us and free them yourself."

Rey snickered.

"You must think me a fool to fall for such an obvious trap."

"Suit yourself then. It seems to me Kur wants to come with me anyway."

"That's right," Kur said, then walked forward to the Sith Lords who cuffed him and led him inside the vessel. Now Rey stood along with Kylo Ren.

"What are you doing, Rey?" he asked, "What's the point of fighting me, part of a Resistance that's now dead? Why not join me?"

"I will never join you."

"So what is the alternative? That the two of us just stand here, Force-choking each other to death? Or should we have a lightsaber duel? Even if you killed me, my men would be on you immediately. You could be a very powerful Sith."

"Maybe I could. I supposed you might say I'd be part of the legacy of Darth Sidious," Rey said with a slight smirk. This comment seemed to throw Kylo Ren for a loop, but then he regained his composure.

"Face it, Rey: the Sith have risen. They are already here."

Rey said nothing.

"Leave her be," Kur called solemnly from the shuttle.

"Very well, Rey. Out of respect to your friend here, I won't harm you. I think leaving you here, all alone on a barren planet, the only member of a dead Resistance, is enough punishment for you."

"You're a monster," Rey replied, eyes full of pure hatred.

"Maybe so," he said with indifference, "But at least I am part of an army with something to fight for. You are alone. And you always will be."

And with that, Kylo Ren entered his vessel, and it took off, ascending into the heavens.

Rey realized she was indeed alone, right now the only living being on the surface of a barren planet. She had watched all her friends be captured, and now she had watched Kur, the closest thing to a new friend she had made, be captured with them.

But she still had a plan.

As soon as the vessel had disappeared into the sky, Rey ran. She sensed the invisible barrier coming towards her and she jumped through. Once inside the Golden Sphere, she allowed her mind to connect with it and, using the Force, began to ascend as well.

She was going into space to settle this once and for all.


	13. Baby Steps

**CHAPTER XIII**

Rey rode the Golden Sphere all the way up through Kessel's atmosphere, until she was in orbit and could see the Star Destroyer. She knew that the Golden Sphere was not really a space-craft; it could not travel too far from the planet, and she would be dead meat should it go up against a Star Destroyer. From a weapons standpoint, it was less powerful than any X-wing or tie-fighter.

Rey sat inside the Sphere, and began meditating. She knew she couldn't stay here very long; as invisible as the exterior might have been, the Star Destroyer would sense her on its radar eventually. And she doubted she could take any direct hits.

Connecting with the Force, she surveyed everyone she could sense. There were a lot of darkside-users onboard. Yet she did feel the slightest tinge of the light-side, coming from the lowest level. She reached-

-it was a baby girl, a Togruta creature named Samara. Rey entered her dreams.

* * *

Onboard, Veep was again plugged into the wall, trying to override the elevators, but to no avail. Finn and Udo were strategizing, amid all the clone-babies around them. Udo gave a loud roar of anguish.

"Quiet, buddy," Finn said, "I'm hungry too."

Neither had eaten anything in almost twenty-four hours. They had been cut off from the rest of the Star Destroyer and had searched the entire level, only to find no food or water whatsoever. All they had with them was an emergency airlock that led out into space and twelve clone-babies, and Finn guessed that the sustenance of the Force in the room had given them enough morale to keep going longer than they normally would.

"Udo," Finn said, "We can still get through this if we concentrate. There has to be a way to break through to the other levels-"

But even as he spoke, it was starting to become clear that even he didn't fully believe in himself anymore.

Meanwhile, none of them noticed one of the clone-babies, the Togruta named Samara, falling into a deep slumber.

* * *

_Samara was fighting the big bad men again._

_ She didn't know what they were called, but they wore hoods and took orders from one man in a mask. In this dream, she was using her powers on them again. With just a flick of her hand, they were bowing before her. But suddenly a new woman with brown hair stood over her. Samara hadn't seen her before, but she felt a strong presence from her._

_ "Samara, my name is Rey," the woman said, "You're dreaming right now, and I've entered your dream. Do you know what the Force is?"_

_ "Yes," Samara replied. She had not yet learned to speak in the real world, but in her dreams she could communicate perfectly. And while she didn't know the term "the Force," she implicitly understood what Rey was talking about. She might have been less than a year old, but she already understood she could sometimes manipulate reality, or move things with her mind._

_ "Samara," Rey said to her, "You're asleep right now somewhere onboard that Star Destroyer. I'm looking for my friends. Are you near them? I think I sense them but I'm not sure."_

_ Samara create a thought-image of the two strangers she had seen before falling asleep. Rey immediately smiled._

_ "Yes, that's them."_

_ "The furry one scares me."_

_ "That's Udo. He's a Wookiee. They all look like that."_

_ "You're not a Wookiee. You don't have any fur."_

_ "No I don't, and I smell better too. Listen, Samara, I need you to do something for me. In a few minutes, you're going to wake up. When you do, I need you to use the Force. I want you to tug on Finn's collar."_

_ Rey created an image of Finn and pointed to the shirt collar on his uniform._

_ "Pull him to you; that will get him to notice you. And the stronger you use the Force, the easier it will be for me to sense you and hone in on you."_

_ "Will you take care of me?"_

_ Rey didn't know how to answer this question. It didn't take much to see that this baby had never been shown love. She was just a clone created in a test tube, bred to be a soldier and nothing else. She didn't know the word for Mother, but something in her still sensed that desire for one._

_ "I don't know what the future holds, Samara. I'm an orphan too. I never had parents."_

_ Samara looked sad, but understood. She took direction very well for a baby._

_ "Alright, Rey. I'm going to wake up now."_

_ "And you'll do what I asked? Pull on Finn's collar?"_

_ "Yes. I'm doing it now. Goodbye, Rey. See you soon."_

_ And Rey felt herself being thrown out, as the dream was collapsing._

* * *

Finn and Udo were going over their plan for the hundredth time. This time, Veep would send a signal that would communicate with the hard drive. It wouldn't override the elevators, but maybe it could create a distraction that would buy them enough time to try something-

Neither one had been paying much attention to the babies, or noticed that one, the Togruta girl, had awoken from her nap, and that she was looking around the room with a smile.

"Look," Finn said, "We owe it to all the Resistance fighters out there to not give up. I am going to face my destiny standing proud-"

Suddenly he felt something tugging at his shirt collar. Before he could look down, he was dragged across the room and yanked down onto the floor!

Udo roared, first in fear but then in laughter! It was hard not to laugh at how much of a fool Finn has just looked!

"What was that-" Finn began, then suddenly was dragged across the floor again! He was being pulled towards the baby that was smiling, almost laughing at him.

"You!" Finn tried to say, "You're using the Force? What are you-"

And then a new sound was heard. The emergency airlock was opening. Was someone coming in from outside? From space itself?

"There you are," a familiar voice said, and Rey stepped through, "Once she started tugging on you, I could hone in on you like a bright light."

"REY?!" Finn exclaimed, "How did you-where did you-"

But Rey ran in and gave both Finn and Udo a big hug. And as soon as she finished, she picked Samara up from her pod and hugged her, sensing that the baby cared for her as well, even if the dream was already starting to become a distant memory.

Rey was happy to be with her friends again. They had millions of questions for her, and she would answer them all in time. But for now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment, this reunion, so happy that they were all alive.

She embraced Udo again, burying her face deep into his fur.


	14. A Terrorist Coup d'Etat

**CHAPTER XIV**

Tyk Zyr, President of the New Republic, stood on his balcony. From the Senate building, he could see much of Coruscant, the ever-reaching cityscape.

He wore a white tunic, which created a sharp contrast against his blue hair and red eyes. It was a good outfit; probably his most iconic appearance.

He had been president for three years, and he knew that he was a divisive figure. Being the first Chiss to ever be president of the galaxy would always inevitably cause some controversy. Being the successor to the great war heroine Leia Organa would also be difficult, even though he had forever tarnished her legacy by revealing she had been the biological daughter of Darth Vader.

But Zyr's presidency had been mired in its own scandals. Since his inauguration, the talk of a Sith uprising had been constant, and it was well known that the fugitive Kylo Ren had been at large. Though Ren had kept quiet for the last three years, it had cast a pall over Zyr's entire term. Of course, he had never been afraid of him; he had a team of seven bodyguards and knew that no Sith Lord, no matter how power-hungry, would dare assassinate a sitting president.

Many had been critical of him, and he had heard rumors of the Resistance, a guerilla group that had been created just to combat the Sith "in the absence of a strong leader."

Well, who cared about them? Zyr had what he wanted: a comfortable office, a galaxy to govern, and even if he was unpopular with the people, he had no real strong opponent in the next election. It was a year and a half away in any case; why worry about it now?

Suddenly he heard a noise coming from inside his office!

He turned, and in one second, all his fears were confirmed. All seven of his bodyguards lay dead on the ground, a pile of corpses. The assassin was a blonde woman who wore the garbs of the Sith. She stood silently in the middle of the room, staring directly at him.

Zyr instinctively knew this was it for him. His death had come and it would not be special or ceremonious. All he had spent these last few years building would be taken in the blink of an eye and no one would even notice.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The Sith woman removed her hood, allowing her blonde hair to flow in the breeze. She really was a beauty for such a tall woman.

"My name is Darth Phasma," she said.

"You serve Kylo Ren?"

"Yes. I am proud to call him my leader."

Zyr sighed. Of course Ren would be the instrument behind his death. Years of bodyguards, of political maneuvering, of always looking over her shoulder, and none of it mattered. When Ren wanted him dead, all it took was a few shakes of an assassin's tail to get the job done in one evening.

The woman named Phasma ignited her lightsaber, but Zyr darted away!

With a second wind, he had already reached the edge of the balcony where he had a hidden blaster. By the time Phasma was on him, he had already fired off three shots, though she was able to deflect all three with her saber!

"You have quick reflexes, even for a Chiss," she said with a small hint of admiration.

"Don't drool over me just yet," Zyr said, then fired another shot!

Phasma managed to do an impressive backflip just in time, avoiding the blast, and landing nimbly on her feet! Zyr rose to his feet.

"Face it, Zyr. It's over. Even if you were to kill me, your government's in pieces, your bought senators all slaughtered like cattle!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it pleased me to do so. Because I wanted to kill the fatted calf, and work my way up. Now I only need to lop off the head!"

She charged towards Zyr again. He was able to get one more shot out, but she dodged it easily. As he raised his arm again and began to take aim, she swung her lightsaber!

With a single stroke, Zyr's entire arm was sliced off!

He howled in pain and reached for his socket, but there was only a stump in its place! Zyr had always heard that lightsabers would immediately cauterize all wounds, but somehow this was worse. Had he been bleeding profusely, it would have felt normal, like an indication that he was _supposed_ to have an arm. But going from having an arm to having a dried stump felt worse, as if he had been instantly dehumanized!

As he processed the pain while watching his severed arm on the floor, Phasma was already lifting her saber for the fatal blow.

"I now claim this government in the name of the Sith!"

And as she swung once more, he instinctively leapt backwards off the balcony! He made one of the largest backflips he had ever attempted, and he managed to escape!

He landed several yards below on the front steps of the Senate building, breaking a leg in the process!

He stood up in agony; yes, he was still missing an arm and now had a broken leg on top of that, but at least he was alive, and was pretty sure he could still outrun this Phasma woman.

But he had only hobbled a few feet away before he was recognized on the street. The citizens of Coruscant were all looking at him.

"It's the president! President Zyr!"

"Help!" Zyr cried, "The capital is under attack! A Sith woman has come after me!"

Their eyes only looked back at him, and Zyr realized for the first time how much the feeling of contempt he had always felt for the people had truly been mutual. There were murmurs throughout the crowd. Zyr could vaguely make out questions: "What's wrong with him?" "Is he dying?"

"Please!" Zyr cried out, "If you value your Republic-if you value your Senate-you'll help me."

And with those words, one faceless person from the mob came forward and stabbed him! It took Zyr a second to realize that a large knife was suddenly protruding from his chest. Then a second person came forth, then a third.

And soon it was over. Tyk Zyr was killed by not one person but by the entire faceless mob.

Up on the balcony, Phasma watched all this with a smile. It was the most successful coup d'etat in history. The masses of Coruscant had finally spoken and deposed their own president-in the loudest and clearest way possible.


	15. No Matter Which Way Our Paths Go

**CHAPTER XV**

While Rey filled her friends in on the Golden Sphere and what she had learned from Kur, Finn was slowly unraveling. The last few days had nearly been a mental breakdown for him: first being under torture, then discovering all these other clones just like him, and now having been trapped and starved down here. He was just about ready to snap.

"Rey, I need to get out of here!" he said when she had finished explaining.

"Take the Sphere back to the planet surface," she responded, "Remember, it's not a spacecraft; you won't get far on it and you'd never outrun a tie-fighter. But if you take it down to Kessel, you'll be able to find the Resistance Base. There was a lot of food stored down there."

"What about you?"

"My place is here," she said determinedly, "I need to confront Kylo Ren again."

Udo gave a loud roar.

"Well, if I'm going back down, I'm taking the clone babies with me," Finn said, "I won't let them be treated as I was! I need to send a clear message: the Resistance lives!"

"Finn, you can't take care of twelve babies! Even if you could, just carrying them into the Sphere would be-"

But Veep had already rolled across the floor and plugged into the facility's computer. He unlocked the pods, and soon they were released. They all levitated six feet off the floor. The babies all looked around in their pods, some crying, some looking comfortable with the Force. Samara was giving Rey a warm look.

"Twelve pods," Veep said, "You maneuver their levitation using your sensory details. I think they can just fit."

Finn and Udo walked up to the pods and slowly learned to maneuver them. They then led them all through the airlock and into the Sphere.

"Goodbye, Samara," Rey said to the baby Togruta, "I will be there for you one day. But today I can't."

And Samara gave her a sad look as she was maneuvered away into the Sphere.

"What about Veep?" Finn asked.

"Sorry, I'm gonna need him," Rey said, "Navigating this Star Destroyer, a droid will come in handy."

"So, is this it then?"

Rey gave Finn a hard look. His PTSD was severe; she wasn't sure he was in any shape to take care of a baby, let alone twelve. But at least he would have Udo with him.

"Yes, Finn. I need to go on alone."

"But you'll rejoin us when you're finished? We need you. The Resistance needs you!"

"I know you do, but-I'm Rey Palpatine."

As she said it, Udo roared in surprise and even Veep made a noise.

"Palpatine?" the droid said, "You can't be. Emperor Palpatine had no recorded-"

"It's true," Rey said, and realized she was no longer ashamed of anyone knowing it. She stated it as the plain fact that it was.

"What's that have to do with anything?" Finn asked.

"It means I'm the galaxy's rightful Empress," Rey said.

"What the heck does that even mean?"

"I don't know," Rey said, "But I have to follow where my path leads. And that path may not be with the Resistance anymore."

There was silence for a moment, but then Finn spoke up.

"Well, I know my path, Rey. I owe it to every single clone soldier out there to give them a better life! If I have to raise this generation of clones to be the new Resistance, I will! I will pick up where Commander Pik left off!"

And Rey found herself strangely proud of Finn. For the first time since she had first met him, when he had been that random soldier numbered FN-2187, it seemed like he finally had an identity.

The two of them stood there, two people who had once been lost souls; now they were Rey Palpatine and Commander Finn, Empress of the Galaxy and leader of the Resistance, opposite ends of the spectrum. Would they ever see each other again? Neither one was sure, and they were both thinking this same thought.

"I wish you well, Finn. No matter which way our paths go-whether you're fighting by my side or against me halfway across the galaxy-you'll always be my family. If this is truly what you were meant to do, I hope you finally have peace."

Finn gave her a weak smile in return. Both of them had a feeling it would still be many years before he would ever not be a soul in conflict.

"Goodbye, Rey," he said softly, and Udo gave a soft roar after him.

The two then walked through the airlock and entered the Sphere, along with the twelve babies in their levitating pods. To Rey's eyes, it seemed as if they became invisible the moment they passed through the barrier. She solemnly closed the airlock door.

Now she was alone with Veep. She pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it, knowing what she had to do.

* * *

Inside, the Sphere's golden interior shined brightly as Udo looked around confused.

"How do we navigate this thing?" Finn asked, when suddenly it moved.

Samara was using the Force, and the walls of the Sphere immediately became transparent. They could see the reaches of space, and they were slowly moving away from the Star Destroyer and back towards Kessel's surface.

Soon the planet grew closer and closer, and they passed through the atmosphere, until the sky was blue and they could see the familiar landscapes of mountains and craters while the ground was getting closer and closer to them.

Finally the Golden Sphere landed right where the opening to the Resistance base had been.

"Here we go! Inside!" Finn commanded, leading the levitating pods out through the barrier and down into the hidden crater.

The base was completely empty, all the soldiers having long since evacuated. But there were tons of food supplies, hidden away where the makeshift cafeteria had been. Finn and Udo were soon stuffing their faces, finally having sustenance.

_I must rest_, Finn thought, and then looked out at the twelve clone babies he had just recruited to be part of his Resistance. Samara was looking right at him. _As soon as I have my wits back, I need to figure out how to begin commanding my new army._


	16. The Empress Speaks

**CHAPTER XVI**

The torture had been ongoing for hours. Kur was strapped down to the chair as Kylo Ren stood over him, bare-faced, Force-choking him. Kur was not doing well; between the choking sessions he gasped for air and struggled to get words out.

"I-I told you-there's no need-to torture me," Kur said, "I offered to aid you."

"I know what you said, Kur. But you think I'm just going to blindly trust you? I need to know that everything you show me will be true."

"This power-of the Force-requires years of concentration. It's not something-I can teach you in a day."

"Tell me how you do it! You uploaded your consciousness into the planet of Kessel, and to its twin. What is the other planet?"

"It's part of me-It's just-The Planet With No Name."

He released Kur and handed him a glass of water, allowing him to get his voice back.

"So what do I do? Just use the Force?"

"Yes," Kur said, still taking deep breaths, "You focus on space itself. And start thinking in a way you've never thought before-"

Right at that moment, there was a notification of a transmission being received. Kylo Ren activated the room's computer, and a tiny hologram of Darth Phasma was projected onto the floor.

"Greetings, Phasma," he said, "What news do you bring?"

"The deed is done," Phasma said triumphantly, "Zyr has been assassinated. And the people of Coruscant are happy to be rid of him."

Ren was shocked-but smiled. He was not expecting this from her, but it certainly was a welcome surprise.

"And the New Republic?"

"They are in chaos. There is no line of succession, and the senators are all corrupt windbags. They are debating what do do; some want to hold an election, others want to make a claim for monarchy."

He was in ecstasy. The New Republic was falling apart before his very eyes. The very thing he had seen his mother build, had seen consume her, was now in shambles.

"Master Ren," Phasma's hologram said, "Now is the time for us to strike! We can rule the galaxy!"

"How would you do that, Darth Phasma? Are you a senator?"

"Coruscant is weak. If we attack now, whoever comes out on top can take the seat, regardless of legitimacy."

"Stand by, Phasma. I need to think."

He shut off the transmission, then turned back to Kur.

"What have you done, Ben?" Kur asked, "You've singlehandedly destroyed the entire Skywalker legacy!"

But Ren suddenly looked around, feeling something intently.

"Hush. I sense a presence in the Force. Do you?"

Kur was quiet, and both realized they felt it.

"It's her," Kur said, "The girl Rey. She's somehow onboard."

"Truly a resilient one. I'll deal with her."

* * *

Rey was in the middle of crawling through the Star Destroyer's ventilation shafts, carrying Veep with her. It was hard navigating through such a large vessel, but between the Force and her droid's programming, she was faring well.

_Rey..._

A voice called in her head, and she froze! She realized Kylo Ren was calling to her through the Force.

_Rey, I know you're near. I can feel you. I have something to share with you._

_What is it?_

_ President Zyr is dead._

Rey took this in.

Suddenly all the machines around her lit up and began playing transmissions. Darth Phasma's message was relayed, as were images and footage of Zyr's corpse and of the Senate debating. She searched her feelings, but she knew this was the truth.

_Rey, there's nothing left for you._ His voice seemed so haunting and somber when she heard it through the Force. _What do you have worth fighting for?_

Rey hesitated for a moment, and then spoke back.

_Very well. I surrender to you. I am on the lower level. Take me to the bridge. I won't try to fight you._

* * *

A half hour later, there was a commotion on the main bridge. Rey and her droid had been found on the lower level and were now brought forth. The droid was taken by one of the Sith while she was held as a prisoner. About thirty Sith were gathered around her, staring at this infamous yet powerful Force-user, unsure what to do next.

"No one is to harm her!" Kylo Ren yelled as he emerged out of his quarters, bringing Kur with him. Kur still shivered from his torture and had clearly seen better days, but he looked at this scene with interest.

As Rey was taken to the very middle of the room, she looked at the face of the young man who had once been Ben Solo; she saw his nose, his clenched jaw, all the things that once seemed menacing and now made him seem-so vulnerable.

"I come to you in peace, but I have something to say," she spoke up, "And I'd like everyone to hear it."

"Very well," Kylo Ren said, "Let's all listen to the prisoner."

Rey hesitated a second as the room went deadly silent. She knew there would be no going back after this moment. With a breath, she took the plunge.

"My name is Rey Palpatine! Rightful ruler of the Galaxy, granddaughter to one of the great Sith Lords, the man known as Darth Sidious! I _will_ continue my grandfather's legacy! And, with the president assassinated and the Senate in dysfunction, now is the time for me to take my place as Empress!"

The Sith all stared at her, astonished. Kylo Ren's face dropped.

"It's not true. Can it be true?"

She seemed dead serious, and her face did not betray her words. He looked over at Kur, who simply stated: "Yes, it's true. She is his granddaughter."

"Listen to me, all of you!" Rey proclaimed, every bit in command of the situation, "On my own, I am nobody. Were I to go to Coruscant, my claim for the throne would fall on deaf ears. I need an army! Sith who still are loyal to my grandfather and to what Sidious stood for! If you swear fealty to me as Empress, I will restore the ways of the Sith!"

Everyone looked confused, then all eyes turned to Kylo Ren, who still seemed unsure. Rey stood resolute.

"Our grandfathers worked side by side," she said, "So can we. Will you join me?"

He simply stood there, realizing whatever he did next would affect years to come.


	17. A Duel With Devils

**CHAPTER XVII**

"Alright, Rey Palpatine," Kylo Ren said, slowly walking towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer and addressing not just her but the entire crowd of Sith in the room, "You make a compelling case. But what reason do we have to trust you? You may be a Sith Lord's granddaughter, yes. But are _you_ a Sith?"

Rey had thought about this, knowing she would likely be probed on this issue. She wasn't sure how to answer.

"Up until today, you were part of the Resistance," he went on, "You and your little friends were strategizing against us."

"My life is strikingly similar to yours, Ben Solo," she answered back, which led to a lot of murmuring throughout the room, "Your parents were Han Solo and Leia Organa, and those two were the closest thing to parents I ever knew. Both of us were trained by Luke Skywalker. And both of us have tried to take up our grandfathers' legacy. And now we're both here, in this room, face to face. What makes us any different?"

"This does," he answered, and with a wave of his hand, commanded the Sith to attack!

Rey was suddenly ambushed on all sides by thirty Sith warriors, all of them strong! She quickly ignited her lightsaber and swung away, but was pushed back with the Force!

She slammed onto the floor, then was picked up and pressed up against the wall!

Suddenly, all the air was sucked out of her lungs, and she realized she was being Force-choked! And not just by one Sith, but nearly all of them. She reached for her neck, but felt nothing there!

"Stop this madness!" she heard Kur call out from the other side of the room, "You're killing her!"

"We won't kill her," Kylo Ren's voice responded-she could just barely make it out-"We just need to see how she performs."

Using all her strength, Rey reached out and Force-choked her opponent, despite not seeing who it was! This released her and she fell back to the floor!

Immediately she was back up on her feet, lightsaber in hand, and began dueling the entire room!

One old hooded woman with long grey hair and a disgusting smile, from a species she could never recognize, came at her with her own lightsaber, cackling away!

They clashed, going back and forth on each other! Rey was exhausted; she had no idea what she was even fighting for! All she knew was she had to stay alive!

She leapt up into the air, doing a tremendous backflip, and curled onto the wall like an insect!

The hooded woman eyed her, smiling the whole time like a strange predator.

This continued for several more minutes-

-then Rey leapt to the ground, hoping to slice the woman's head-

-only for the woman to shoot lighting from her fingers and hit Rey directly! Rey fell to the floor in agony!

Pain sizzled through Rey's entire body as she screamed!

She had no idea what this lightning was; all she knew was it was a darkside power. And as long as she was being electrocuted, she was completely powerless!

Finally the woman stopped, and Rey coughed up a mouthful of blood! She spat it out, then only lay on the floor in defeat. As she slowly got her breath back, she realized she had never been beaten this badly in her life.

"Excellent duel!" the woman said, "You are one of us!"

Rey took these words in.

"So to answer your question, Rey," Kylo Ren's voice came from behind her, "The only difference between us is I am a Sith. Which means I command this army. But as you've just proven in your duel with Darth Kayla here, you are every bit as skilled as anyone else in this room, especially when you use the darkside."

Rey looked up at the hooded woman-Darth Kayla, she was apparently called-and saw that this was where her destiny had led her. It was time to stop being in conflict with herself.

Getting back up on her feet, she looked directly at Kylo Ren and said: "I choose to join the Sith."

She could hear Kur sighing. As she turned to him, he looked defeated.

"Do you pledge yourself entirely to the teachings of the Sith?" Kylo Ren asked her.

"I do," Rey replied, "All my life, I've only wanted one thing: a family."

_I thought Finn and Udo were that family_, she thought, _but I have to protect them. As long as my name is Palpatine and I am skilled with the darkside, then I belong here._

"Very well," Kylo Ren said, "We will support your claim as Empress and be the army you need to take the throne. But while your public persona is Rey Palpatine, you must train with us, as an apprentice, to learn the ways of the Sith."

"I will train her," the cackling old woman known as Darth Kayla said, "I just bested her in a duel; the least I can do is take her under my wing."

Rey hesitated a second, then said:

"So be it."

She knelt down as Kayla cackled, reaching her arm over Rey's shoulder.

"The Force is strong with you, Rey Palpatine. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as...Darth Barla."

"Thank you, master," Rey said quietly.

"Rise, Darth Barla. The Empress Palpatine."

And Rey got back on her feet once more.

"Set a course for Coruscant," Kylo Ren commanded, "Our invasion begins."

* * *

Ten minutes later, after all the commotion had settled down, the Sith had all returned to their posts on the Star Destroyer, and Rey had been given a traditional Sith black robe. It was musty; she could smell it as soon as it was handed to her and she guessed it was quite old. But she put it on.

And now she walked beside Kylo Ren as he led her over to his quarters.

"You fought well out there, Darth Barla," he said, "You will make a very good Sith and an even better Empress."

"Thank you-Master Ren," she said.

Once they reached his quarters, they were rejoined by Kur. He looked at Rey, showing not disappointment but pity.

"Now, Kur," Kylo Ren said, "Shall we resume where we left off? You were going to teach us the ways of the Force and how to create planets."

"I will do this out of loyalty to the Force," Kur said, "but I want to make it clear that I have not renounced my ways. I am and shall always be a Jedi."

"Noted," Rey said, "But we all need to work together."

"Very well," Kur said, "Then, as I was saying, you use the Force to focus on space itself. Now let me tell you about The Planet That Has No Name-"

And as they talked, Rey embraced her destiny, feeling the slightest tinge of regret.


	18. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Finn looked up at the stars. They gave him hope; somehow, no matter what trauma the galaxy was going through, looking up at the stars never lost its sense of wonder. And the sky was much brighter here on Zuuk.

Zuuk was a jungle planet, full of wildlife. Finn was currently riding on a fur-llama, majestic creatures that always had a twinkle in their eyes.

He rode his fur-llama to a small hut within an enormous jungle-tree. After knocking the secret knock on the door, he was let inside by Mama, the leader of the Pomola tribe.

"Hello, Mama," he said, "How are they doing?"

She beckoned him to come inside, and so he followed her.

The Pomola's were ape-like creatures, who had happily taken them into her tribe. Once inside the jungle-tree, Finn was greeted by Udo, who roared happily, and then to the entire tribe of Pomolas, who were happily nurturing the clone babies. All the babies were very healthy and clearly a lot happier, now that they had their own individual cribs, made from bamboo. And Samara in particular was showing higher intelligence every day.

"Thank you for helping to raise them," Finn said.

Mama simply shrugged. The Pomolas were nurturers; cultivating the young and helping them grow was what they did.

Zuuk was relatively close to Kessel. It hadn't been that hard of a journey; Finn and Udo had waited on the Resistance base for all of six hours before finally realizing they couldn't take care of the babies on their own. The two had found a U-wing transport at the bottom of the base, carried the clone babies inside, then left Kessel's atmosphere. Finn had led them as bravely as he could, knowing full well that they could likely be shot out of the sky as soon as they entered space.

But no, they had been strangely lucky. Or perhaps the Force had been with them, Finn supposed, or at least with Samara.

As soon as they entered space, they had entered hyperspace and gotten away without a Star Destroyer in sight. And in only a few minutes they had arrived at Zuuk. And upon landing the U-wing in that jungle landscape, they were immediately surrounded by the Pomolas tribe in all their friendliness.

Since then, Finn had had good days and bad days. His PTSD was getting worse and worse, and while he was happy to be alive, the news of the galaxy being in political turmoil had upset him. President Zyr had been assassinated, and there were now rumors of someone new claiming the throne, calling herself Empress Rey Palpatine. Yet Finn believed in his heart that Rey would never truly become her grandfather. Even if she truly thought she was, even if the Sith put their faith in her...somehow, he knew she would find a way to be true to the Jedi and to herself. But he had no way to find out.

* * *

That night Finn stood inside the jungle-tree, having just finished his dinner with the tribe and done a bit of strategizing with Udo. They had talked about the future of the Resistance, but now he was worried. No matter what he did, he just couldn't stop thinking of Rey.

He stared at the bamboo-cribs, watched the clone babies sleep, knowing they were the future. Samara in particular was sleeping very soundly. As the most powerful Force-user in the bunch, he knew she had a world of work ahead of her.

He was worried. Truth be told, he had never been this worried before, and on days like this, it was hard to even breathe.

* * *

_Samara was fighting the bad men. She had been seeing them a lot less lately, and now they were tiny little men that she towered over as she flew higher and higher-_

_Suddenly the woman was there again. She was wearing a black robe this time._

"_Hello, Rey!" Samara immediately remembered her name, "Does this mean I'm dreaming?"_

"_It does, little one. Are you well? Did Finn get you off that planet?"_

"_Yes! It's been so great! We're being fed and loved! How about you?"_

_Rey only gave a sad face in return._

"_Don't worry about me. I need you to give Finn another message from me. Can you do that?"_

* * *

As Finn sat there, worried about the future, he'd hardly noticed that Samara had awoken in her bamboo-crib and was looking directly at him.

Suddenly something began to move. Finn looked around in confusion, then saw the spoon from that night's dinner was levitating off the table! He looked over at Samara, who was smiling from her crib with a look that suggested she knew everything.

_Well_, Finn thought, _whatever she's up to, better it be a spoon than dragging me across the room by my shirt collar again._

The spoon was moving over to the wall, and made a few motions. Finn tried to figure out what it was doing, but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Was she trying to write him a message? That would be close to impossible, considering Samara had yet to learn how to read and write. After a few motions, the spoon dropped to the floor.

Finn walked over and picked it up, then stared at the wall and at first saw nothing.

It wasn't until he had moved towards the light that he realized the spoon had made a very primitive drawing in the dust. It was of Rey and Finn together.

_Rey is thinking of you._

Finn could barely make out those words, but somehow, he was sure Samara had sent them to him, and he knew Rey had spoken to her.

_She's alive_, he thought to himself, realizing tears were slowly streaking down his face, tears of joy. _Empress or not, Sith or not, she's alive. She's alive. Thank the Force for that._

Come what may, the Resistance was still standing, and the galaxy would see a new life.

**THE END**

* * *

**Click on the author's profile for the sequel, _Episode IX: The Galaxy Reborn._**


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